More Than Metal
“Zane!”
I could distantly hear my name, almost as though it was far away. I wrenched my eyes open, my vision hazy and my mind foggy as I tried to bring myself out of the darkness I was in.
I saw flashes of blue and red, colors starting to become clear as I rubbed a hand against my eyes, the digits digging into my sockets.
I was finally able to concentrate on the voices, the cacophony of sounds causing my head to ache and my ears to ring.
I felt a warmth upon my back, urging me to sit up slowly.
“Zane! Are you ok?”
I knew that voice.
“Jay?” My own voice sounded foreign to my ears, sounding vaguely like gravel in my throat.
I blinked and my eyes adjusted, a mop of ginger hair and bright blue eyes coming into focus.
“You’re ok? Tell me you’re ok!”
“Of course he’s ok, Bolthead!” A deeper voice replied sarcastically. That had to be Cole.
“Can we focus here?” A third voice joined the conversation; Kai.
I blinked several times, waking up gradually to the wintery world around us, reminded now that we were in the forest of the Treehorns.
Several of the gigantic creatures lay dormant on the ground around us, the largest of which stood encased in solid ice. “I... did that?” I asked quietly, my eyes trained on the tree-like monster.
“Don’t you remember anything?” Cole asked, his grey eyes filled with concern. I shook my head. All three of my comrades looked between themselves, their expressions worried.
“Let’s get you on your feet buddy,” Kai said, lending me his hand. I stood, unsteadily at first, but gradually regained my balance. My head was still pounding, but I did my best to ignore it.
“Uh, Zane?”
I looked towards the questioning glance of Jay, asking, “What is it?”
“What’s up with your arm?”
I lifted my arm, unaware that I had been injured in the fight with the Treehorn Queen and what I saw in that wound brought back a flood of memories. An older man teaching me everything I needed to know for years flashed in my minds’ eye, causing me to blink several time to try and stop the sudden surge.
I looked at the deep cut again, sighing at seeing the crisscrossing wire and circuitry that could clearly be seen.
“I have something I need to tell you,” I said, my voice wavering.
My three friends looked at me expectantly as I sighed, preparing myself mentally for what I was about to reveal to them.
“I’m,” I swallowed. “I’m a... a robot,”
There. I had said it.
I waited for the onslaught of questions from Jay, the reserved concern from Cole and the subtle apprehensiveness from Kai, but none of them came.
A shared look passed between the trio before they all looked at me with an unreadable expression.
“That’s AWESOME!” Jay exclaimed, grabbing the nearest thug he could for a hug, which just so happened to be Kai.
“You’re... you’re not freaked out? Or worried?”
“Worried?! You’re a robot, Zane! A, a,” Kai tried to find the right words as he attempted to wrestle free from Jay’s deathgrip.
“A ninroid!” The ginger supplied.
“A nindroid?” I tested the word -if you could even call it that- on my tongue. I rather liked it.
“Yeah! And I bet it makes you an even better ninja!” Cole agreed, clapping me on the back. I smiled at him, turning to my other friends who were still locked together.
“Thank you my friends,” I said, causing all three of them to turn their gazes towards me.
“Anytime brother,” Cole added with a grin.
It was then that I understood; we weren’t just friends anymore. We were brothers. And it was because of that, that no matter what ran through me, bolts, screws, gears or circuitry, that I was accepted. That’s what made me a ninja.
-
I wanted to do a twist on how Zane found out he was a nindroid. I wanted to explore him finding out first and telling the guys later rather than them finding him in Dr. Julien’s house. I imagined Zane unlocking his true potential before the guys even found him. I hope you liked it! Ninjago belongs to the LEGO company.